Best-Ranked Engineering and Technology Programmes in the Arab Region

Arab universities’ programmes in engineering and technology excel in the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

Fifty-two universities in the Arab region are featured in the comparisons of programmes by subject, published this month. The subject listings are part of the QS World University Rankings portfolio published each year by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a British higher-education analytics company.

This year’s subject listings analyse the performance of 15,200 individual academic programmes in 51 subjects at more than 1,500 universities around the world. The subjects ranked include 324 programmes in the Arab region. Of those, 88 programmes are in engineering, and 31 are in computer science.

Following is a synopsis of how Arab universities fared in the broad faculty area of engineering and technology, as well as within individual subject areas of engineering and computer science.

Engineering and Technology

Twenty Arab universities are among the 520 universities worldwide ranked for their programmes in engineering and technology. They include five Egyptian universities, four in Saudi Arabia, three in the United Arab Emirates, two each in Jordan and Kuwait, and one each in Qatar, Lebanon, Oman, and Iraq.

Two Saudi universities ranked among the top 100 worldwide: King Abdulaziz University was 51st, up from 72 in 2021, and King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals was 87th, compared to 120th last year.

The top 200 universities in engineering and technology also included Cairo University (134th), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (174th), Qatar University (179th), and King Saud University (185th).

The American University in Cairo was in a block of universities ranked 401 to 450. Kuwait’s American University of the Middle East and Oman’s Sultan Qaboos University both were in the next group, ranked 451-500, while Egypt’s Mansoura University the University of Baghdad both ranked 501-520.

Petroleum Engineering

A total of 160 petroleum engineering programmes were ranked this year. Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) came in sixth globally, while Khalifa University ranked 20th and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) ranked 27th.

Also among the top 100 programmes, all ranked 51-100, were Egypt’s Alexandria University, Cairo University and the American University in Cairo. In the same group were the University of Baghdad, Kuwait University, the Lebanese University, Sultan Qaboos University, King Saud University, Sharjah’s Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, and the United Arab Emirates University.

In the next group (101-150) were Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, the Lebanese American University, the University of Sharjah, and three institutions in Iraq: the University of Basrah, the University of Mosul, and the University of Technology.

Mineral and Mining Engineering

Of the 60 mineral and mining engineering programmes ranked this year, only one was at an Arab university. That was King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), in 16th place.

Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering 

KFUPM also scored highly among the mechanical, aeronautical and mechanical engineering programmes ranked this year, jumping from 122nd  last year to 81st this year. Two other Saudi universities ranked among the top 150 out of more than 500 programmes: KAUST (115th) and King Abdulaziz University (144th).

Three Arab universities were in the group ranked 151-200 in this subject: Cairo University, Khalifa University, and King Saud University. The American University of Beirut, Qatar University, and the United Arab Emirates University were in the group ranked 251-300 in this subject.

Ain Shams University, Alexandria University, Jordan University of Science and Technology, and the American University in Cairo were all ranked 301-350, while the University of Baghdad and the University of Jordan ranked 351-400.

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University was in the block ranked 401-450, while Helwan University, Kuwait University, the Lebanese University, and the University of Sharjah all ranked 451-500.

Electrical Engineering and Electronics 

The listings compare some 520 programmes in electrical engineering and electronics, and three Saudi universities had programmes among the top 150: KFUPM (70th), King Abdulaziz University (104th), and KAUST (122nd).

Another Saudi institution, King Saud University was in the group ranked 151-200.

Cairo University and Khalifa University were also in the 151-200 group, while Ain Shams University, the American University of Beirut, and Qatar University followed in the 201-250 group.

Universities in the next group (351-400) included the Lebanese University, the University of Baghdad, the University of Jordan, and the University of Sharjah.

Three other Egyptian universities were among the top 500 in this subject: the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport and Mansoura University (both ranked 401-450), and Helwan University (451-500).

Civil and Structural Engineering 

The top 100 programmes in civil and structural engineering included three at Arab institutions: Cairo University, King Abdulaziz University, and King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, all in the 51-100 group. They were followed by the American University of Beirut and the American University of Sharjah, both ranked 101-150.

Four Arab universities ranked 151-200:  Ain Shams University, Alexandria University, King Saud University, and Qatar University. Jordan University of Science and Technology, Khalifa University, and the United Arab Emirates University followed in the 201-220 group.

Chemical Engineering

In this category too, Saudi universities advanced, with KFUPM coming in 54th and KAUST ranking 84th among some 400 programmes ranked worldwide.

Two other Saudi universities ranked in the 101-150 group: King Abdulaziz University and King Saud University.

Qatar University also improved its position in the rankings, reaching the 151-200 group this year, compared to 201-250 the year before.

Three of the region’s universities were ranked in the 201-250 group: the American University of Beirut, Cairo University, and Khalifa University. Four others ranked 301-350: the American University of Sharjah, Sultan Qaboos University, the United Arab Emirates University, and the University of Baghdad.

Alexandria University and the Lebanese University were in the 351-400 group.

Computer Science and Information Systems

Only one Arab university ranked among the top 100 programmes in computer science and information systems: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz University, which came in 56th out of 670 programmes ranked.

Twenty-eight programmes at Arab universities were ranked in this subject. Five were in the 151-200 block. They were KAUST, KFUPM, King Saud University, Cairo University, and Qatar University.

In the 201-250 group were Jordan University of Science and Technology, the University of Jordan, the American University of Beirut, and the United Arab Emirates University. They were followed by Khalifa University (251-300), the Lebanese University (301-350), and Ain Shams University (351-400).

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Some universities new on the top 500 list included Jordan’s Princess Sumaya University for Technology (401-450), and Saudi Arabia’s Umm Al-Qura University, Alexandria University, the American University in Cairo, the American University of Sharjah, all ranking 451-500.

The Emirates’ Zayed University was in the next group, 501-550.

The University of Baghdad, Jordan’s Yarmouk University, Kuwait’s American University of the Middle East, Kuwait University, the Lebanese American University, and the University of Sharjah were all in the 551-600 group

Programmes at universities in four Arab countries ranked in the 601-650 group: Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Egypt’s Helwan University and Mansoura University, Lebanon’s Saint-Joseph University of Beirut, and Oman’s Sultan Qaboos University.

Apart from Egypt, no other North African nations made it to this year’s QS ranking by subject. War-torn Syria and Yemen were also missing.

Related Reading 

• Arab Universities Advance in QS Rankings by Subject
• University Rankings: A Look at How Some of the Major Listings Work
• Al-Fanar Media and QS University Rankings Announce a Media Partnership Serving Arab Universities and Students